U.S. Senate candidate from California apologizes for Indian 'war cry'

Rep. Loretta Sanchez making a regrettable Native American &quot;war cry&quot;

(Image credit: AP/YouTube)

published 18 May 2015

Rep. Loretta Sanchez's (D) uphill battle for California's opening U.S. Senate seat got a little bit steeper when video surfaced of her making a Native American "war cry" on Saturday, while discussing a very positive meeting with a group of Indian Americans during an event outside the California Democratic Convention in Anaheim. On Sunday, Sanchez apologized in front of the Democratic delegates for her "offensive" gesture, noted that she's part Native American, and said she will continue her bid for the Democratic nomination.

The video was taken and released by Uduak-Joe Ntuk, a delegate to the convention who told the Los Angeles Times he was at Saturday's Sanchez event unofficially, to see a friend. Ntuk later acknowledge that he has raised money for Sanchez's rival in the Democratic race, state Attorney General Kamala Harris. As of March, Harris had raised $2.2 million for the race, while Sanchez had $540,000 in her campaign chest. You can watch the video below. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.